


Blind Sighted

by lal nila syrin (lalnilasyrin)



Series: Blind Sighted [1]
Category: D N Angel, D.N. Angel, D.N.Angel, DN Angel, DNAngel, d. n. angel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Character, Blindness, Gen, blind!daisuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalnilasyrin/pseuds/lal%20nila%20syrin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daisuke had never been able to see... and he never thought that the legends his family told him when he was younger were ever true. But it's in his blood, and he's about to find out exactly how true those legends are. Now fourteen, he's expected to carry on the family tradition of becoming the Phantom Thief Dark--and he never expected the voice in his head that came along with the job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blind Sighted

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [aliceofbrokendreams on tumblr](aliceofbrokendreams.tumblr.com). (The following commentary is also copied from my original tumblr post.)  
> After she brought up this DN AU, I spent some three or four days doing nonstop writing. It’s much longer than I expected, but I’m posting it as a oneshot because otherwise it seems like it would end up a discontinued series. But this is by far the longest one shot I’ve ever worked on! I’d be surprised if it matched the length of AFP though (which I will resume writing, uh, soon).  
> Anyway, I had a lot of fun doing this! I even referenced chapter 1 of the manga for a majority of it (I was planning to cut off the story at the end of chapter one too, but some stuff needed expanding so…)  
> That said, you don’t need to have to know anything about DNAngel to read this! I tried to write it so it could be like an introductory chapter. ^o^ T-though it will probably be much more interesting and meaningful to those who do know the series already.  
> Sorry it’s so long! Please enjoy!

Daisuke had heard the stories his whole life—about a thief who flew on wings in the black of night, whose four hundred years old tale made him a mystery to anyone who heard. They knew what he did, they always knew what he stole—his notes always let them know—and they knew his name.

But no one knew who he  _was_.

It was all just a fairy tale to Azumano, and most of this generation didn’t even consider him real—their parents, perhaps, had been children when the thief had last flown in the sky.

But Daisuke was sure the thief wasn’t real. There was no four-hundred-year-old angel. He knew for a fact—because he had been training his whole life to take up the role.

The Great Phantom Thief was a title… one his grandfather passed down to him. But as the years grew long, he wondered if the Phantom Thief could even be “real” in this generation as he was “real” when he appeared in his grandfather’s.

After all, even if he had trained his whole life to be a thief… he didn’t want to be one. And even if he did… he wondered if he  _could_ , having spent most of his life in a tiny world because he didn’t know how to navigate the bigger one.

Even with all the training, all the practice dodging the traps in his home—the layout of which he had memorized years ago—he thought it was impossible. He couldn’t be a thief.

He couldn’t even  _see_.

~~~

Daisuke Niwa had spent thirteen years, eleven months, and thirty days training to be something he knew he could never be. He never understood why his mother insisted he keep up the family tradition, insisting that the Phantom Thief  _would_ return.

Little did he know that she would be right, and he couldn’t be more wrong on  _how_ he thought the thief would return.

Today was his birthday. He was turning fourteen, and honestly it was just another day to him.

"Be sure to be home by four today!" Emiko said sternly as she met him on his way out the door that day, "You’re going to be in big trouble if you don’t!"

Daisuke blinked slowly, though uselessly. “Are we having a celebration tonight?”

"Silly. The Phantom Thief is coming, remember?"

 _I highly doubt that._  Daisuke thought, but nodded to appease his mother anyway. “I’ll be sure to tell Harada-san to make sure I get home on time, then.”

Emiko smiled, though he couldn’t see. “Good. Have a good day at school, then, darling.” She kissed him on the forehead, stepping back as he reached for the door and then disappeared beyond it.

Daiki came up behind her, glancing out the window to see his grandson meet up with a certain brunette waiting just outside their gates.

"Are you sure?"

Emiko’s smile dropped now that Daisuke was gone, and she sighed deeply. “I have to be, dad.” She turned to her father, whose deep red gaze was a stark contrast to Daisuke’s blank white one. “It doesn’t matter if Daisuke is blind…  _he_  will come, regardless.”

The old man nodded slowly, turning to head back into the living room. “We’ve done all we can to prepare Daisuke. He needs to be ready for anything, he has to be able to do anything, even if he can’t see.  _He_  won’t be so kind as to sit idly by, hm? He’s not that type.”

"You know him better than I do." The fiery-haired brunette shook her head, following him, "I’ve always wanted to meet him… I wanted a son so I could meet him. I… I didn’t think I’d dread the day he’d come."

Daiki paused, looking at his daughter—she had spent her whole life looking forward to meeting the Phantom Thief, to continuing their family business because that was all they  _could_  do, trapped by the curse as they were. She had taken an optimistic approach to it, unlike him, because she couldn’t be the Phantom Thief like Daiki had been, like Daisuke would be.

Like Daisuke would  _have_  to be.

"It wasn’t supposed to be like this." The melancholy and guilt in Emiko’s voice was strained, quiet and almost deafening despite that.

Daiki sighed, bringing her into a gentle embrace, stroking her hair.

"…He’ll be alright."

~~~

Daisuke’s walking stick tapped lightly against the cement as he walked beside Risa—he had had a crush on Risa for years, ever since he entered middle school and she had volunteered to be his guide. Not that he needed one, but any school he went to always made sure he had one, just in case of emergencies.

In elementary school, it had been Takeshi, who was now his best friend. Takeshi would have continued being his guide when they got to middle school, if they had been in the same class for that first year. They hadn’t, and thus, Risa became his guide instead. Even though she didn’t need to be anymore, since Takeshi was in his class this year, she was ever vigilant in her duties, even stopping by his house on the way to school in the morning so they could walk there together.

He was glad for her warm presence in his dark world. Risa was kind—he liked hearing her laugh, and he could always tell by her beautiful voice when she was happy. And, on the few occasions when she wasn’t happy, sad or upset for whatever reason, Daisuke would always be there to cheer her up or help her talk through her problems. He always wanted her to smile again—even if he couldn’t see it, sometimes she would let him feel it, especially after he cheered her up after a particularly bad day. Yes, indeed, Daisuke couldn’t see anything, but when his fingers brushed the curve of her lips, he couldn’t help but not care about his blindness, as long as she was happy.

Sometimes being blind bothered him, and he hated tripping on the things he couldn’t see, not being able to read or write, or not understanding what people meant when they tried to describe something colorful—color was not in his vocabulary, and he couldn’t even imagine it. But that feeling, the one he got when he was with her, when his heart beat so fast and his face felt warm, it made it all seem trivial. He didn’t need to see to know how he felt about her.

He had decided that today would be the day he told her—he would confess his feelings and ask her out. He had planned it all in his head, a shy but nervous grin on his lips.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Risa’s voice, sweet and pretty and innocent.

"Ah, I just remembered! Today’s your birthday, right, Niwa-kun?"

Daisuke nodded, his free hand fiddling with the edge of his shirt. “Yeah. Oh, I almost forgot, Mom wanted you to be sure I got home by four today. Um, not that I need you to take me home, but you always… you know, come anyway.” He chuckled, rubbing his neck now.

Risa giggled. “Of course I do! I know you know your way, but I like hanging out with you, Niwa-kun!” She put her hand on his arm, “You’re my best friend, after all.”

Daisuke’s smile faltered. “Right.” He gripped his walking stick, feeling off balance.

"So, were you going to celebrate tonight? Because I was about to ask if you had plans." Risa inquired.

"I think so. Mom didn’t tell me what we were doing though." He shrugged, "But I think it’s a private family thing."

"Oh, too bad. But hey, let’s have a party this weekend, okay? Riku and Saehara can come too, then. We’ll get you presents!"

Daisuke felt his grin returning, excited about the prospect of being able to hang out with his friends. “Sounds like a great idea. I can’t wait.”

Risa hummed cheerfully, looping her arm through his as they continued on their way to school. She didn’t seem to think anything of it, and while Daisuke was used to her leading him that way, he still turned a slight pink.

"…Hey Harada-san?"

"Yes?" Risa paused as they reached the school gates, turning to look into his hopeful white eyes.

"Um… would… would it be weird if I said I really liked you?" Daisuke said quickly and nervously, "I mean, you’re one of my best friends, you really are, but… I mean, I really really like you."

Risa stared in surprise. She couldn’t find the right way to respond—and she knew she’d probably hurt his feelings even if she tried to let him down gently.

As she stood there gaping at the sudden confession, her redheaded friend began to fidget. The silence, apparently, was nerve-wracking to him. His shoulders tensed, and he began to get flustered. “I—I’m sorry. If you don’t—I mean, wow, that was probably weird. Uh, just… forget it.” His sightless eyes turned away from her general direction, aimed now toward the school.

"Oh, oh Niwa-kun—I didn’t mean to make you feel bad," Risa began quickly, and he turned back toward her. She flinched—she should have known silence was also an answer to him, and now she realized that it was probably as bad an answer as anything else she could have said. Probably even worse.

"I care about you a lot, but I just can’t think of you that way," she said honestly, figuring it was probably best to go with the truth, "I’m sorry."

"Oh," Daisuke smiled sadly. He already knew from her silence that this would be how it would turn out. How else could it have? "It’s alright. You shouldn’t apologize for that."

"Still…" Risa sighed, glancing up at him. "I hope this doesn’t change anything? We’ll always be friends, right?"

Daisuke blinked. “Oh. Um. Yeah.” He forced a smile on his face, even though he felt his heart breaking. It was painful—nothing like the warmth he had felt when he was walking beside her just moments ago.

"Come on, we’ll be late for class."

"Ah… Right then."

~~~

Risa really felt like a jerk for rejecting Daisuke’s confession like that. It didn’t help that all her friends hounded her for that—especially when they saw him moping quietly at his desk and not speaking much. He was the local cute blind kid, and everyone really felt bad for him, though he didn’t like the pity. Risa had been like that at first too, until she got to know him and realized he just wanted to be treated like everyone else—normal.

And that was how she treated him—he didn’t need special treatment just because he was blind. He was perfectly capable, and she  _knew_  that. She wasn’t going to accept dating him just because he was disabled and she should have pitied him like everyone else. She didn’t.

Still. She hated that she had hurt his feelings—she didn’t know he had a crush on her. And as much as she had tried to treat Daisuke  _normally_ , she hadn’t once realized that he  _could_  have a crush. It took some long and hard thinking on her part to realize she had been operating on the idea that disabled people didn’t have the same feelings or perceptions of the world that normal people did. And that was dehumanizing—it was dehumanizing to Daisuke, and it was unfair to him, and she felt absolutely horrible for it.

But it wasn’t her fault… even if she had known it, he still wasn’t her type, and she told her friends as much.

She sighed and saw Takeshi and a few of Daisuke’s other friends go over to his desk and try to cheer him up. Takeshi was going on about some big event happening that night.

Not that it mattered, Daisuke couldn’t see it anyway.

~~~

"Are you sure you want to help with the clean up, Niwa-kun?" Riku asked in concern when the boy insisted he help with the classroom cleanup—again. No one ever assigned him any of the cleanup duties, mostly because they thought he couldn’t do it, but he always made sure to do his fair share of work even without his sight.

Today he seemed particularly insistent that he should help—Riku felt sorry for him, since it seemed like he was having a bad day, and probably needed the distraction.

"I’m sure… isn’t there anything I can do? Take out the trash or something?" Daisuke asked, fiddling with the wristband on his walking stick.

Riku hesitated. “No. Maybe you should just go home for today. It’s your birthday, right? Didn’t your mom want you home? Ah, happy birthday by the way.”

Daisuke tilted his head, then his expression dropped. “Oh, Harada-san told you about that, huh.”

The brunette sighed. “Yeah… I heard about this morning too. Sorry about her… she’s a little… well, selfish, sometimes, if that’s the right word for it.”

"It’s understandable." Daisuke shrugged helplessly, "I’m probably high maintenance too. I mean… who would like someone like me?"

Riku stared at him mournfully, biting her tongue. She really wanted to blurt out, “I would!” but she refrained. It would be too weird—besides, Daisuke liked  _Risa_ , not her. Even if he couldn’t mistake them like most people did because they looked similar, the idea that he would like her even if he did know they were “the same” felt ridiculous to her.

But the thing about Daisuke was that he didn’t even consider the Harada twins the same. He barely knew what “twins” even meant, much less remember that Risa or Riku were a pair. He heard the little nuances in their voices that made them different—the slight crack in Riku’s whenever she got nervous or flustered, the passionate flair that arose when she got in a heated argument, the boyish tone she had compared to Risa. She had never even known that about her voice until he pointed it out to her. He was a good friend, Riku thought, because he could see past the physical differences, because he couldn’t see them at all—most people treated the twins the same, as if they liked the same things and had the same hobbies, just because they had the same face.

But Daisuke, to Riku, was the first person to ever treat her as her own person, a separate entity from her sister. He had once told her, “Although you’re twins, you’re completely different.” And she really liked him for that.

Too bad she could probably never tell him this.

"Don’t get so down on yourself," Riku poked his chest, surprising him, "You listen to me, Niwa-kun. You’re a great guy and you’re not high maintenance—you’re the most capable person I know." She took a deep breath, grinning a little at his wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "So stop moping, okay? It’s your birthday. You should get home and celebrate with your family. And if you really wanna do something before you go, then fine, here, you can take this easel back to the art room."

Daisuke blinked a few times, then grinned.  _Good to know I have a friend like her._  ”Yeah, I can do that.” He nodded, shifting his feet so he could follow Riku, his free hand grazing the desks as he walked by so he didn’t bump into any sudden corners.

Riku guided him to the easel—it was a small thing really, the teacher had used it to prop up a poster board for a presentation—and helped him tuck it under his arm. Then she pressed something that felt like a credit card into his hand. “This is the key card for the art room. Do you know where it is?” She asked as she opened the door for him.

"Yeah," said the redhead, "I may not take art class but I can make my way there." It kind of helped that he memorized the whole layout of the school already. Besides, he always liked the idea of art—something about colors and shapes and ideas coming together and making something people liked the look at intrigued him. It was everything he could never do or see… not for himself, anyway.

"Alright. You can just leave the card with the front desk when you’re done, too." Riku bid him farewell as he left the classroom, and she went back in to continue cleaning.

Daisuke brushed his hand along the wall, his walking stick hanging from his wrist since he was holding the card key instead. He sighed heavily now that he was alone—today had been long and awkward and he could barely focus on class. Even after Takeshi and Riku had cheered him up a little, he still couldn’t help but feel misery and dread pooling in his stomach.

After all, Risa was supposed to be taking him home today. She was probably even waiting at the front gates for him—he better not make her wait, but at the same time he really didn’t want to be with her right now, afraid that he would just feel pain again, instead of the comforting feeling of her presence.

He felt like crying at the thought of that, having to walk home with her even if they had already said they’d stay friends.

Distracted, he almost missed the art room—if not for his fingers brushing the plate outside the door. The braille on the plate made him pause, and he ran his finger over it—“ART ROOM”. He sighed, getting back to his task, idly thinking that he was glad the school had installed those nameplates for him.

He moved his hand across the door until he found a knob, and felt around for the steel device he was supposed to put the key card in. He expected it to be on the door, but instead found it next to the said door, just below the nameplate.

He slid the card through the reader. It beeped angrily, and he sighed, turning the card over just to make sure he hadn’t accidentally been holding it wrong. It beeped again. He frowned and flipped the card to it’s opposite end, and then turned that side over too, but still the machine buzzed in error at him.

"Uhg… it’s just not my day! Of all days, it’s my birthday—couldn’t life just give me a little bit of luck today?" He dropped his head as he leaned forward, and his forehead hit the wall, but he ignored the pain from the impact with only a small grunt. "Let me in, you stupid thing!" He tried sliding the card through again, but once more there was a beep, almost mocking him. He sniffed in frustration. "Today really sucks…"

"It’s the wrong key."

Daisuke nearly jumped out of his skin—he was usually pretty good about hearing people come up behind him, but he had been so distracted he had missed the quiet footsteps just moments before.

He turned around quickly, facing the student who had spoken—it was a boy, judging by the voice, and Daisuke vaguely recognized him as someone from his class. He took a moment to put a name to the voice, before he realized that the boy probably didn’t speak much if Daisuke was taking this long to recognize him.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you." The boy said tonelessly, though Daisuke detected a hint of curiosity hidden under the layers of what seemed like forced stoicism. "Are you… okay?" He shifted, and there was a slight shuffling.

He felt the boy take his hand, replacing the key card with something else—it was soft and small, a piece of fabric… a handkerchief? Why would the boy give him a handkerchief?

It took him a moment to realize he had been crying.

"Oh." He quickly wiped his eyes, "Sorry. I didn’t—uh, just… thank you." He stammered shyly, "And, uh, it’s alright—the startling thing. How long have you been standing there?"

"Only a few moments." The boy paused, and Daisuke could feel a cold stare on him. "This key is not working because it’s the wrong one." He said again, seeming awkward like he didn’t know what to say to the blind boy—Daisuke felt the cold gaze move away, and the boy was probably looking at the key now.

Daisuke didn’t blame him for being awkward—most people were, whenever they talked to him for the first time. And this boy had never really spoken to Daisuke before—Daisuke knew that much.

He sighed, “I know that now, thanks.” He ran his hand through his hair, “I was supposed to put this thing away,” he motioned to the easel vaguely, “but… oh, did you need to get in?”

"I was supposed to clean that room, yes, but I was told someone else had the key already." The boy replied.

Daisuke flinched, turning back to the lock and putting his hand on it. “Oh, uh, sorry about that then! I didn’t mean to hold you up! Uh, hold on, I’ll open it.”

"Open it…?"

He felt around the metal device, recognizing it as an older model of this type of lock, and touched the keypad to manually enter a lock code—or rather, hack and override it. The machine beeped quietly with every button, until he hit what he thought was an enter button, and it chirped a happy beep at him. He grabbed the handle to the art room, turning it and pushing open the door so they wouldn’t be locked out once the beep stopped.

"It opened!"

"Interesting."

Daisuke flinched, blushing deep red. He had forgotten he wasn’t supposed to hack locks in front of someone else. “Oh, uh, yeah, I forgot I could, uh, do that. I mean, they told me the art room lock code and… uh, I forgot till just now.” He explained nervously, “It’s not been a good day, you know? And I’m kind of tired.”

Confessing to Risa had taken all his courage—and his strength. But still, the boy in front of him didn’t seem to mind the excuse.

"You must have good memory." The other boy commented simply, and Daisuke wondered what the boy was writing down—he could hear the light scratching of a pencil. He didn’t have much time to think on it, as he felt the boy come nearer, opening the door the rest of the way and propping it open with a stool.

"I kind of have to. It’s not like I can take notes in class." Daisuke grinned weakly, coming in after the boy. He heard the light switch being flicked on, but it didn’t matter to him anyway—he would have been able to navigate in the dark regardless. "Though the teacher did get me a note taker—they type up the notes and print it out on a special machine, and it comes out in braille for me."

"I know."

Daisuke blinked slowly, tilting his head in confusion. “You know?”

"I’m the note taker."

Daisuke’s mouth opened in surprise. “Y—you are?” He gasped, “Wow, uh, thanks. They were always so well-written, I didn’t think it could be Saehara or Harada-tachi…”

The boy shrugged, but then remembered the redhead couldn’t see him. “It only made sense. I’m the only one in class with a computer to type things up on.”

"Oh. Is that so."

Maybe the boy wasn’t as cold and quiet as Daisuke had first thought him to be.

There was an awkward pause, and Daisuke listened as the boy moved around the art room. Judging by his footsteps, he was intimately familiar with the room, and he was only moving the stools around for now—putting them up on the tables so he could clean the floor, apparently.

"Uh… where does this go?" Daisuke finally spoke, holding up the easel he had nearly forgotten was still under his arm.

"Oh," The boy came back over, taking it from him, "I’ll put that away."

"Thanks." Daisuke paused, focusing on the voice now that it was much closer again. In the silent room, he tried even harder to recognize the voice—he knew he was supposed to know who it was, but he couldn’t pinpoint it right away, distracted by the previous conversation.

And then, he finally realized where he had heard it before. “Oh. You’re… Hiwatari-kun, right?”

The blue-haired boy lifted an eyebrow, turning back to face him. “Would I be someone else?” He inquired, puzzled.

"Ah—sorry, it’s just that we haven’t really talked before, so I was trying to remember your name. I knew you were in my class though—you sit next to me!" Daisuke grinned, "I recognize your voice from when the teacher calls on you. You don’t talk much though, do you? Because it was sort of hard to recall."

"Oh. I forgot… everyone seems to know me for whatever reason, it did not occur to me that you wouldn’t." The boy sighed, and Daisuke couldn’t blame him for his exasperation, because even Daisuke had heard talk of the ever-popular "cool type" Hiwatari Satoshi. He never really cared for the girls’ gossip, but he had had the impression that Satoshi was a handsome upperclassman—not his quiet and hard-to-approach classmate. Still, he seemed relieved that Daisuke didn’t recognize him as anything other than a classmate, so Daisuke continued smiling.

"I think introductions are in order then. I’m Niwa Daisuke." He bowed slightly.

"Hiwatari Satoshi." The boy replied shortly, seeming confused by the introduction—after all, it was obvious he already knew who Daisuke was. But he might as well be polite. "Nice to meet you."

Daisuke grinned—he knew he was right. Satoshi definitely wasn’t as unapproachable as he thought before, even if they had never talked before today.

"The pleasure is mine—and also, thank you! It’s good to finally know who my anonymous note taker is. Why didn’t you ever say anything before?" Daisuke asked curiously. Satoshi seemed nice enough—maybe they could be friends.

"It didn’t seem relevant." Satoshi shrugged.

Daisuke tilted his head. “Not relevant?”

"I asked the teacher not to disclose my information for a reason." Satoshi replied as emotionlessly as before, "I had thought that I shouldn’t get involved with you."

He heard a thousand implications that came with those words, but the one that cut through him the most screamed,  _"I don’t want to get involved with someone who’s different. There’s something wrong with you."_

The redhead’s spirit sank, and his heart dropped into his stomach again. Just when he thought his day was starting to look a little better at the prospect of making a new friend… 

"Perhaps I was wrong, though."

Daisuke was taken aback, and he lit up again. “Really?” He asked hopefully, “Well, then… maybe we can hang out another time. I’d really like to get to know my note taker.” He gave an unrestrained grin, “You seem really nice.”

Satoshi made a sound of surprise, as if he hadn’t expected Daisuke to describe him like that. After a moment, he composed himself. “Maybe,” he said slowly, “What are you doing later today?”

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked, having not expected Satoshi to offer an invitation to hang out so soon after meeting. "Oh, uh… it’s my birthday, so my mom wants me home today…"

He broke off abruptly, his eyes widening. “Hey, what time is it?”

Satoshi was caught off guard by the non sequitur. “3:22 PM.” He answered absently after a quick glance to his watch.

"Oh—oh, I have to go." Daisuke gasped, "I’m sorry. But, uh, hey, I’ll see you in class tomorrow, right?"

The blue-haired boy lifted an eyebrow at Daisuke’s ironic use of the phrase. “Yes. Of course.”

"Alright, cool." Daisuke smiled, though he felt dread pooling in his stomach as he remembered Risa. He gripped his walking stick, tapping its end firmly on the ground. "Bye then."

"Very well. Have a nice birthday, Niwa."

"Thanks!"

And Daisuke made his way down the hall and out the school, moving swiftly despite his blindness.

When he reached the front gate, he bit his lip, straining his ears to listen for Risa. He heard a few students still around, leaving after finishing their cleaning duties, but he didn’t hear any sign of his friend. He was both relieved and sad—because this was the first time she wasn’t there.

He felt a little guilty, but he decided to take off before she arrived—if she hadn’t left early already. He really had to get home on time.

~~~

Of course, the trip wire he was greeted with at home, followed by the moment of panic as he ducked out of the way of a flying projectile, was probably the punishment he supposed he deserved for walking in late.

_Why can’t there be a day where I can walk into my own home peacefully?! Geez…_

The hallway obstacle course—in which he dodged things he could only describe as sharp and metal by the sound of steel being unsheathed—was a little unexpected, if only because  _it’s my birthday, why do I have to do this today of all days!_

The floor of the second hallway becoming an unpredictably moving wave of wood was something he was sure his mother designed only to get on his nerves.

And nearly slipping on a banana peel of all things—the universe must have really hated him today.

As he stopped in front of the living room door, he felt the hairs on his arm stand on end, and he didn’t reach for the doorknob. He gulped fearfully and listened carefully, and heard the flow of electricity cackling from somewhere above. He frowned, putting his hand on the wall and finding the door frame, tracing it until he found the button on top that turned off the electricity.

When he was sure it was safe, he went in. He heard the heavy, bouncy footsteps far before he even finished opening the door. He expected the air-constricting hug that came almost immediately after doing so, his mother’s arms wrapped cheerfully around him.

"You did it Dai-chan~! Good job on passing the course today! You got full points!"

"Really, Mom? Really?" Daisuke sighed, struggling out of her embrace. Well, at least she wasn’t mad he got home a little late. "The electricity too? I could’ve died from that amount of voltage."

"But you didn’t!" Emiko giggled. "I’m so proud of you!"

"Good job, Daisuke. Just be thankful there was a trip wire to warn you there was a course this time." Daiki piped up, "You usually get no warning with her."

Daisuke sighed, moving past them to go to his room. “Yeah, thanks.”

"You’ve done well," Daiki continued, almost as if Daisuke wasn’t walking away, "you’re officially fourteen today, and you’ve passed all your training. We have nothing left to teach you, and thus you must take up the mantle of Phantom Thief D—hey, wait, where are you going? Listen to me till I finish!"

Daisuke ignored his grandfather’s call, muttering something like “sorry, grandpa, I don’t feel like doing anything today”, and disappeared into his room.

Emiko frowned, going over and knocking on the door before she opened it, poking her head in. “Bad day, honey?”

"It’s not a very happy birthday," Daisuke replied sadly, collapsing on his bed and leaving his walking stick propped up beside it, "Sorry if you wanted to celebrate something, I’m really not up for it."

"Oh, Dai-chan… I’m sorry, but we can’t change our plans. We’ve already set everything up!" Emiko frowned, "Just… rest for now. Hopefully you’ll feel better in a few hours, then."

"Maybe," came the boy’s only reply, and he fell quiet.

"…I’ll get started on dinner then. It’s going to be shrimp tempura, your favorite, so cheer up, alright?" Emiko said softly, moving away from the door to head to the kitchen.

Daiki caught her glance. She seemed nervous about Daisuke being depressed. “It’s alright—even if  _he_  doesn’t show up, we’ll go through with it.” He pet the little white creature beside him, who wagged its tail cheerfully. “With knows what to do, right?”

"Kyuu!" The white rabbit creature nodded. He hopped of the couch, scuttling into Daisuke’s room to maybe cheer him up.

"Yeah, you’re right. But maybe we should have waited before sending out the notice." Emiko smiled weakly at her father, nodding before she continued on her way to the kitchen.

Daisuke had elected to ignore what he heard his mother and grandfather were saying—not that it made much sense anyway.

With hopped onto his chest, nuzzling him. He chuckled, giving the rabbit thing a rub behind the ears—With’s fur was the softest thing he had ever felt, and it had the strangest texture. It didn’t feel like the rabbit that was his class pet in elementary school—it had a specific mat, a certain silkiness to it, and little long, hard edges here and there near his back. The only thing Daisuke ever thought to compare it to was a tiny chick he had held on a class field trip to a farm before, whose downy feathers were just as fluffy as With’s fur.

He sighed as he sat up, holding With in his arms as buried his face in the little animal’s supposedly white fur.

"It’s been a long day, buddy. Sorry I didn’t bring you today." Daisuke murmured. He felt With’s soft nose touch his own, and he smiled a little—With’s small sympathizing gesture wasn’t much, but it let Daisuke know at least someone was there for him. "Thanks."

He contemplated doing homework, but he really wasn’t in the mood. Sighing, he crossed his legs, setting With down in the cradle of them, and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed the buttons, listening to the different tones until he got the combination he wanted, and he held it up to his ear to listen to his voice mail.

His mom reminding him to come home on time at two o’clock. His father calling to wish him happy birthday—he smiled at that. And then…

_"Hey, Niwa-kun, it’s Risa. Sorry I didn’t show up today—I had to stay after and help with the cleaning duties. Er, I’m still here actually. I forgot it was my day. Please don’t think I ditched you because of this morning—I really didn’t mean to leave you alone today. Uh, anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, alright? Bye."_

Daisuke clenched at his heart, closing the phone without waiting for the automated voice to even finish listing off the options of what to do with the message. There was a heat spreading through his chest… through his body, and everything felt like it was burning, literally. He shifted uncomfortably, grabbing his elbows, his face contorting in pain.

 _Window_ , he thought,  _It’s just… hot in here… that’s all._

And as he stumbled his way over to the window, pushing it open, the sensation took over.

There was a voice, calling him…

~~~

Daisuke still didn’t know what had happened, but when the pain passed, he felt different. He didn’t know why or how, but he felt off-balance.

He was especially sure of this when he tried to make it to the door, only to trip over his own two feet—well, worse than usual, anyway. It felt as if his limbs were longer than they were supposed to be, still tingling from that weird burning sensation.

"Mom?" He called out, and then froze. That wasn’t his voice. His voice was not that deep—but… it was coming from his mouth. It was definitely coming from his mouth. "What—whoa—huh?!"

 _W—what happened?! What’s going on?!_  He thought in panic, quickly feeling his throat—and then he froze, because something about the texture of his skin was different now too. It was less smooth, and when he felt his other hand, he found callouses there that had not been there before.

His panic escalated, and he reached up, touching his face. The shape was different—slightly more defined, a little like his grandfather’s face but younger, maybe even like his father’s. The jaw was strong, the nose sharper… and his hair—it was longer, and the texture was different—lighter and thinner.

"M—mom!" Daisuke yanked the door open, having heard her approaching footsteps, "Mom, what’s happening? I—I think I changed, but—!"

"Oh, you look so handsome, Dai-chan." Emiko giggled, and her confused son yelped in a flustered panic. "Don’t worry, it’s not permanent."

"What—"

"The Phantom Thief—we’ve told you about him your whole life, remember?" Emiko put her hands on his shoulders, calming him—he was taller now, he realized, as her voice was more level with his ears. "He is part of our blood—the mysterious Phantom Thief Dark. And now that you’re fourteen… it’s your turn to carry on Dark’s name."

"Ever since the Edo period, our family has been a family of thieves, you know this Daisuke," Daiki spoke, and Daisuke flinched in surprise. Daiki had always ever been the only person whose footsteps Daisuke could not hear. "And every male in our family becomes an incredible phantom thief when they turn fourteen—they become Dark."

"Grandpa was Dark too," Emiko added cheerfully, giggling. "That is the destiny of our family."

"I—I don’t understand," Daisuke shook his head, "That was all a myth. And that still doesn’t explain why I’m suddenly—"

"It’s not. You physically become Dark—that’s how it is. It’s in our DNA."

"But—I can’t… I can’t be a thief! And even if I could—this isn’t… I don’t even know what to do in a body like this! I’m not used to it! Turn me back!" Daisuke begged desperately, confused and incredulous.

"You can’t—not right now, at least." Emiko’s voice took on a serious tone, "Not until you steal the Saint Tears. We’ve already sent out a notice—as Dark always does. You can’t back out of it."

"The—the what?"

"At eleven, you are to steal the Saint Tears. Once you do, you can change back."

Daisuke’s red-white eyes widened. He remembered Saehara saying something was going to happen tonight, but he didn’t think it was this…!

"How could this… there’s no way I can do it!" Daisuke protested, shock beginning to shake him.

"Only you can, really," Daiki frowned, "We could send With, but… it has to be you." He shook his head, "There’s no one else who carries the Niwa blood—that’s why we’ve trained you your whole life. To prepare you for the day Dark would come… today."

"Grandpa…"

"Time to put your training to use, Daisuke. The key to reversing the transformation… is the Saint Tears!"

~~~

Getting into the museum would have been easier if Daisuke wasn’t so nervous. He could still hear the commotion outside, from when With had caused a distraction of some sort—apparently, his long-time family pet was more than just a rabbit. He was a shapeshifter, much like Daisuke was now, apparently.

Daisuke had been amazed to find out With became the fabled black wings on Dark’s back—he had thought that part, most of all, had been a myth.

After the weightless feeling of flying, of the wind against his face, of the overwhelming fear that he couldn’t feel anything solid beneath his usually grounded feet, he decided that  _screw it, nothing’s impossible anymore._

Resigned to a fate he never actually thought would be his, he had slipped into the museum under the guise of a cop.

If he hadn’t visited this museum so many times growing up, he probably would have been a lot more nervous. As it was, he knew the layout of this place just as well as the layout of his house. Navigating wasn’t so hard.

Neither was tricking the cops into thinking Dark had already stolen the statue. He heard the cops yell in uproar as the lights went out—With’s doing, thank goodness. With the lights out, he tossed a piece of cloth over the statue’s display case—it was black, his mother had told him, perfect for blending with the shadows. Hoping he hadn’t messed up, he told the inspector in charge of the security that the statue was gone, and everyone had run outside to try and catch the thief and restore the security system. Daisuke had volunteered to stay behind and continue guarding in case the thief “came back”, carefully hiding his too-white eyes under the brim of his hat. In the clamor of it all, Inspector Saehara never quite realized there was one extra man on his team.

"That was… easy. Not so bad." Daisuke breathed in relief once he was alone, turning back to the display case. He tried to fiddle with the lock on the case but found it was a voice-activated system. "Must be the curator’s, then…" He grinned a little. One of the perks of being blind was that he was able to distinguish even the most minute differences in voices. One of the perks of having been trained to be a thief his whole life? He would be able to emulate those minute differences flawlessly.

And just as he got the lock open, he heard footsteps echoing behind him—coming closer… it was already too close.

He gasped just as a voice spoke out, “It’s you. It’s really… you.”

There was a surprised but melancholy tone to that familiar voice. Daisuke’s eyes widened as he realized who it was—he had met this person just earlier today.

_Hi—Hiwatari-kun?! What is he doing here?_

"And I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet you in my lifetime." Satoshi’s voice was tinged with a smile—a sad smile, by the sound of it. Daisuke felt overwhelmed—he didn’t know what was going on, or why his new friend was here. "Though I must admit, I didn’t expect you to be able to steal the Saint Tears so quickly. Or… is it a trick?"

 _He figured it out?_  Daisuke turned around just as Satoshi stopped not three paces away, subtly taking a deep breath to calm himself.  _Keep cool,_  he told himself, _you’ve been training all your life for this day. Don’t mess up now._

"What do you think?" He gave his best cocky grin, daring to stare Satoshi right in the eyes—or pretended to, at least.

Satoshi stopped in surprise, a small gasp escaping his lips that he obviously didn’t mean for anyone to hear. Too bad Daisuke’s hearing was as keen as a dog’s.

After a long, pregnant pause, Satoshi said, “…What peculiar eyes you have.”

Daisuke flinched. What did Satoshi mean by that? Daisuke didn’t know if anything was strange with his eyes—weren’t they still white? Or were they something else now? He didn’t now what his transformation did to him—he dreaded to really find out.

"The art may be gone, but seeing doesn’t mean believing." Satoshi mused, and Daisuke had only a split moment to recognize the shuffling of fabric as Satoshi pulled his hands out of his pockets and clink of metal. Before the former redhead knew what was happening, his head had collided painfully with the ground and he felt Satoshi’s tight grip on his wrists, along with the cold of a handcuff’s hard metal. He was being pinned down by the knee jabbing into his stomach, and he felt Satoshi’s breath on his face.

"I… don’t care about the art piece," Satoshi whispered, "My whole existence is to capture  _you_.”

 _Uwaah—I can’t move!_  Daisuke panicked, struggling. Satoshi was stronger than he seemed, and there was still the fact that he was in in the museum in the first place. Daisuke wanted so badly to explain— _I’m not a thief, I just need the art piece to reverse my transformation!_  He didn’t want to go to jail—he didn’t want to be involved in this at all!

"Besides… I have nothing left. I am the last remaining member of my family… so I’ll capture you and  _put an end to this_.” Satoshi’s mysterious words were hissed darkly, and Daisuke felt fear course through him.

_Somebody… somebody help me!_

Suddenly there was warmth.

There was wind and heat and something Daisuke couldn’t identify, all surrounding him, and…

_Wha… what’s going on? This… this feeling is…_

_"Great job, Daisuke. I’ll take it from here."_

He heard a voice—his voice, but not… it was the other voice, the older one. It was everywhere and nowhere at once, and he couldn’t figure out where it came from. It was eager and excited, but under the mysteriousness he heard something ancient and broken.

And suddenly everything vanished, and he felt cold and numb and distant.

_"What the—? Well, it’s not the best of circumstances, but I’ll have to deal with it."_

That deep voice poured from his mouth, but not of his own accord—and suddenly he was very aware that he wasn’t in control anymore.

"With, come!"

A gust of wind distracted Satoshi enough for the thief to get away. Daisuke could only listen as two similar voices—and no doubt, men of the same appearance—spoke in turn to confuse Satoshi. Daisuke knew, though, that the voices weren’t exactly similar—the one coming from the duplicate, however the duplicate came to be, was more playful and mischievous. And the one emanating from his own lips had an undertone of apprehension, though it was hidden well under a layer of smirks and cockiness.

While Satoshi was still shocked, the duplicate grabbed the statue from under the black cover and all but flew toward Daisuke’s body. And before he knew it, they were in the air again—Daisuke had only just realized the duplicate was With.

With had handed off the statue to the person who was currently controlling Daisuke’s body, and they were clutching it tightly, feeling unsure of something. Daisuke only knew because he felt it within his mind—as if he could feel whatever the mysterious thief was feeling.

"Thanks for the save, With," the man sighed in relief, "Couldn’t have made it out without you."

"Kyuu! Kyuu, kyu!"

"Yeah, long time no see. I missed you too."

 _W—wait_ , Daisuke was finally broken out of his stupor,  _who are you? What are you doing in my head?!_

"I’m Dark, duh. Didn’t your parents ever teach you anything?" Daisuke felt Dark’s eyes roll, sarcastic and arrogant. "And I’m not just in your head, kid. I’m in your body—I’m in your blood and DNA."

Daisuke remembered his mother and grandfather mentioning that becoming a phantom thief was in his blood. He didn’t think they meant it so literally. Nor did he think it would manifest as a cocky split personality—or whatever Dark was.

_You’re not real—you’re a myth. This can’t be happening… I can’t believe this._

"Oh, I’m very real, kid. You know what they say," Dark shrugged, "seeing is believing. But I guess that doesn’t apply much here, huh?"

Daisuke bristled in his mental abyss. He didn’t dignify that with a response.

"I’ve dealt with a lot of surprises before, but I’ll tell you, this one takes the cake. At first I thought the guy blindfolded you, but… you really can’t see, huh?"

_Shut up._

"This could be problematic." Dark muttered, landing somewhere—Daisuke couldn’t tell where, only that they were still high up. He idly wondered if Dark was blind too. "Well, anyway, that was a close one back there, but I think we’re alright now."

 _Alright? We are not alright! Turn me back to normal! Isn’t that why we stole the Saint Tears?_  Daisuke yelled, making Dark cringe.

"How should I know?" The phantom thief smirked, "Besides, who said I wanted to turn back?"

 _What?!_  Daisuke’s panic escalated, the thought of being stuck—not only in his own mind but with  _this guy_ —scared him half to death.

"I’m sticking around for a long while, kid. Better get used to it, this body is mine now too." Dark grinned mischievously, holding up his arm for With to perch on. He reached up, petting the once-small winged creature—Daisuke could distantly feel the familiar softness of With’s fur, and suddenly he was reminded of the numbness and that frightened him even more.

"You agree with me too, right, With?" Dark chuckled, scratching him under the chin out of habit.

"Kyuu." With, for all the strange animal he was, sounded sarcastic and exasperated. If Daisuke didn’t know better, he wouldn’t have thought it was possible for a creature like him to know what it meant to roll his eyes. But as it was, With sounded like he was reacting to a sour joke, and Daisuke had no doubt that With was fixing Dark with some sort of deadpan stare.

The sound of a door opening—glass by the sound of it—caught their attention and Dark instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.

Only to be met with a shriek.

"AAAAH!  _Pervert!_ ”

Dark swore, and With quickly retook his place as Dark’s wings, taking off. The voice had set off something—it was a fast beating and searing heat and impossible warmth.

And that voice… Daisuke would know it anywhere. It was  _Riku_.

With lost control after the sudden change of weight he was carrying, and the next thing they knew, they were falling out of the sky, landing in shallow water—a fountain? A river?—with a loud splash.

Daisuke sputtered, sitting up ramrod straight, his eyes wide. The heat was gone from his body, but suddenly so was the feeling of cold numbness that he felt when he was at the back of his mind.

He could feel the wetness—he could feel it through his hair and on his skin and soaking his clothes. His awareness was back full-force, and the first thing he thought to do was touch his face.

A soft jaw, a round nose, short untamed hair.

"I… I’ve changed back!" Daisuke gasped, scrambling clumsily to his feet. With made a small sneeze nearby, and he made his way over based on the tiny sound. He picked up the shivering, soaking wet bunny, along with the bag with the statue in it. "Come on, With… let’s get home. Somehow." He sighed, reaching out to feel for a wall, or some sort of indicator as to where he was. With was usually a pretty good guide, but… With never did well in water. Daisuke was on his own this time.

_"Not quite, kid."_

Daisuke jumped in surprise—that voice was still there huh.

 _"Of course I am. Like I said, I’m not going_ anywhere _.”_  Dark scoffed.

"You… you can hear my thoughts?"

_"I’m in your head."_

"Right. I’ll keep that in mind." Daisuke sighed heavily in defeat, moving along the wall again.

There was a long silence, and the only sound was the water rushing into the river or wherever Daisuke was, and the sound of slashing as the redhead trudged through it.

Daisuke was lost in his thoughts—wondering why Satoshi was at the museum, why he had changed back… realizing he really was “the great Phantom Thief” and he couldn’t change that. Not one bit. And he didn’t understand any of it!

Finally, fed up with either the silence or Daisuke’s musings, Dark spoke again. _"The wall is six feet high, but I doubt you can find cover if you climb up it. Not like you can explain the outfit or the stolen goods if you got caught."_

Daisuke stopped. “…You can see?”

 _"I usually see through my tamer’s eyes, so no. I can’t."_  Dark grunted in irritation,  _"I just know the town pretty well. One of the perks of having lived here for, oh, you know, four hundred years. It hasn’t changed much since I was here last."_

"Right then," Daisuke sighed, looking down at With and running his hands through the damp fur, trying to dry him and keep him warm. "With, do you think you can fly us back now?"

"Kyuu…" With whined, but nodded, transforming.

 _"You know, With never willingly became wings for anyone else so easily before."_ Dark commented,  _"Usually only for me. With a few exceptions."_

"Guess he likes me a lot then." Daisuke snorted, bracing himself as With picked him up, and the wind rushed past his ears as the large wings took a mighty flap.

 _"He likes everyone."_  Dark remarked dryly,  _"He must be making an exception ‘cause you’re_ special _. You need him.”_

Daisuke stiffened. “Oh yeah? Any more than you do.” He shot back hotly, “I’ve never needed special treatment from him nor anyone else, thank you very much.”

 _"Said the_ blind _kid. You can’t tell me you’ve_ never _gotten no_ help _, it’s impossible.”_ Dark sneered back just as heatedly.

The redheaded teenager scowled, trying to think of a good retort without making himself sound helpless. Frustrated, he blurted out, “Said the four-hundred-year-old  _thing_  who has to use my family as hosts! Like—like a parasite. You’re really one to talk about needing  _'help'_!”

Dark went silent.

And when he didn’t speak up again, Daisuke wondered if he should have felt guilty.

~~~

"I’m never doing that again. It was scary… and hard." Daisuke sneezed a little, wiping his eyes of the tears that formed there. The warm shower had felt nice after he got home, but he was pretty sure that trudging around in the water made him sick. "And I never want to turn into that arrogant thief again."

"That’s not possible," Emiko said sadly, "As long as you like Harada Risa… you’ll transform into Dark."

"Eh? What?!"

Emiko patted his shoulder gently. “I’m sorry sweetie. As much as we wish you didn’t have to… as long as Dark’s around, he’s got a job to do. And that means you do too.”

"But…"

"Don’t worry—Dark’s DNA reacts to emotions of love too."

"W… wait. When we transformed back, that was right when…." Daisuke’s eyebrows raised, "we heard Harada-san… the elder one. That means… Dark likes Harada Riku?!"

"Possibly."

Daisuke perked at his grandfather’s voice, turning toward the source of it. “Right—grandpa, you lied! You said I’d change back when I stole the Saint Tears!”

"Okay, I might have, but would you have done it otherwise?" Daiki sighed, "But it’s not all a lie. Do you know what the Saint Tears is a statue of?"

Daisuke shook his head, no. Daiki brought him over to the table, guiding his hands over the face of the statue. He felt the shape in his hands, formed the geometry in his mind, and finally said, “A woman?”

"A sacred maiden. That is what you must acquire to turn back to normal," Daiki held Daisuke’s hands, "When your love comes to fruition… Dark will go away."

"Till then, you’re stuck with him." Emiko kissed his forehead, and both adults stepped away and let the youngest Niwa take it all in.

Daisuke’s lips twisted into a deep frown, and he whined, “That kind of change… I don’t want it!”

"Daisuke… is Dark there?" Emiko asked curiously.

Daisuke flinched, his shoulders tensing. “Kinda, yeah. I can… feel him… but he hasn’t spoken to me in a long time. We sort of had an argument.”

"Did you ask him if he can see?"

"He says he can’t, through my eyes."

Daiki looked thoughtful. “Then what about your own… Dark?”

**_"Crystal clear."_ **

Daisuke nearly jumped. He looked around for the source of the voice, and Daiki looked at him curiously. Daisuke didn’t seem to realize Dark had spoken through him.

"This generation will be different, hmm."

Dark scoffed and said nothing more.

"It’s nice to finally meet you, Dark. I’ve waited a long time to meet you, but I didn’t think it would be like this." Emiko said softly, looking directly at her son.

**_"I know."_ **

Daisuke looked confused, wondering if they could see Dark, and what the mysterious thief looked like to them.

The brunette woman shook her head, kissing Daisuke on the forehead again. “It’s late—and well past midnight. Go get some sleep, you still have school tomorrow.”

"Ah… yeah, mom. Good night then."

"Good night, Daisuke."

~~~

As Daisuke lay in bed, trying to sleep and forget the events of the day, he heard Dark’s voice—it wasn’t cocky or arrogant, but a little curious and sad.

_"Interesting… your vision may be completely black… but your world is still brighter than mine will ever be."_

Daisuke was quiet for a long time, unsure if he was supposed to respond, or even how to.

"…Dark?"

A tired sigh.  _"What is it, Daisuke?"_

"I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I didn’t mean to call you a ‘thing’ and a ‘parasite’. I don’t even know you well enough to have that right."

 _"No, you were right. That’s why I…"_  Dark trailed off, then sighed again.  _"It’s nothing, we’re cool."_

There was silence. Daisuke somehow got the feeling that Dark wouldn’t be apologizing for all that slur about him being blind.

And then the curiosity came back to the phantom thief’s voice.

_"You’ve always been blind, right? That must suck."_

"It’s not like that’s a bad thing. I manage pretty well." Daisuke paused. "Dark… you said that my vision is completely black. What did you mean by that?"

_"Uh? Exactly what I said. Looking through your eyes… all I see is black. As much as I like the color, it was… overwhelming. I actually don’t know how you stay sane, in that kind of darkness."_

"…So that’s black, then. And darkness. That’s what it looks like?"

Dark seemed confused.  _"You didn’t know?"_

"No… I don’t know if you  _actually_ realized, Dark, but I’m blind. Completely and fully _blind_. I have been for my  _whole life_. This… this darkness, as you call it, isn’t overwhelming to me. It’s comforting—it’s the only thing I know.” Daisuke frowned deeply, “It’s funny how people describe the world in terms of one thing compared to another… for someone like me, none of these explanations make sense. They’re relative to people who can see, who know what the other thing is. The world is described in good and bad, right and wrong, in color and light… but I’ve never been able to see anything like color and light. So  _no_ , I didn’t know. I don’t know what _anything_  looks like, ever.”

Dark didn’t reply, once more—but this time they didn’t fall into the kind of silence that made Daisuke feel guilty. He continued, almost angrily.

"I actually hate people who don’t truly understand what it means to be blind—or to be different in any way. They try to describe the world in their terms, and the only thing I can do is nod along because they don’t get that I’m not part of their world, no matter how hard I try to be. Even if they knew I didn’t understand, they wouldn’t and couldn’t put themselves in my shoes because it would be too hard. They’re a little worse than the people who think I can’t do anything on my own, just because I’m ‘disabled’—no, I’m perfectly able. And I can take their pity and their sorrow, I can deal with that because I’d rather people underestimate me than overestimate me. But there’s such a thin line between that limit that I’m not even sure where it is anymore."

Daisuke ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it in frustration. Dark still said nothing, and With—woken up by the ranting—crawled over from the corner of Daisuke’s pillow, blinking sleepily at the redhead before he tucked his face into the crook of Daisuke’s neck, going back to his slumber.

A few deep breaths, and Daisuke composed himself. He spoke quietly again. “Right before you showed up, you know, I was doing fine. I don’t know if you noticed, but I got past all the security on my own. I even got the lock hacked. And I did all of this while trying to get used to walking blind in  _your_  body.” He sighed, “So… tell me, Dark. Do you still think I need  _help_?”

 _"Actually, now that you mention it, that was kind of badass."_  Dark replied slowly, _"You’re right. I underestimated you… I should’ve known better. Never underestimate a Niwa, even a blind one. You did good."_

"…Thanks." Daisuke sighed. He got the feeling Dark was beginning to understand him better, and the curiosity in his voice told Daisuke that he  _wanted_  to know Daisuke better, even if he was still kind of a jerk about it.

_"I mean, I didn’t even have to move much, but I’ll be honest, even if I could, I could barely take five steps in your body. I’m not used to being blind. Looks like I might have to work with you more than I did with Daiki… being you must be hard. Being blind… is hard."_

Daisuke snorted. It was pretty easy for him—he knew how to get around, even in the more unfamiliar places of Azumano. The thought that Dark—the great Phantom Thief in the stories his mother told him at bedtime when he was younger, the thief who could do  _anything_ —didn’t know how to walk blind… that was pretty amusing to him.

"No harder than seeing only darkness in a world full of light."

There was a long silence. It seemed they had come to an understanding, and Daisuke felt content. He settled down into his pillow, getting comfortable as drowsiness began to take over.

~~~

The next day had been full of awkwardness Daisuke couldn’t even begin to name.

Risa had come to pick him up, and he tried not to think too hard as he walked beside her. She was gushing about Dark, of all people—about how cool he was, how handsome…

Dark, inside his mind, was grinning mischievously and almost victoriously, because the more she talked, the more flustered Daisuke got.

The only thing preventing him from transforming was Riku beside her, muttering curses about a certain pervert. One which she was pretty sure was Dark himself.

And if the Haradas weren’t bad enough for his fast-beating heart, a run-in with Satoshi probably would have made it burst. Daisuke sweated nervously as Satoshi examined his wrist, ignoring the whispers from the girls behind him wondering what he was doing with Daisuke. The redhead had gone into a mini panic as he thought about the possibility that he might get caught—he had already come to the conclusion that the only way Satoshi could have been at the museum last night was if he was a cop. Which was  _really odd_  for a fourteen-year-old.

But to his relief, Satoshi had whispered, “It’s not the same…” and moved on. Daisuke didn’t know what that was about, but he quickly went to his seat as class started.

And by the end of the day, Risa asked if he wanted to walk home together, as usual. Nervous about transforming, he declined, saying that he had some errands to run first and didn’t want to hold her back. Though she seemed worried, she left without him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, transforming into Dark right after she left anyway shattered any relief he had, and he went into another panic about what Dark would do with his body now that he was free again.

It turned out that he didn’t need to worry much, since as Dark said… being blind was  _hard_. Daisuke ended up laughing as Dark fell on his face for the third time as they tried to make their way back to the Niwa household.

 _And I’m supposedly the clumsy one._  Daisuke had commented, earning a string of colorful curse words from the frustrated phantom thief.  _Why didn’t you just change back into me? Are you that desperate for some roaming time?_

"I haven’t been able to manifest in forty years. Excuse me for wanting to enjoy some fresh air." Dark shot back, gripping the walking stick forcefully. "Never mind that I can’t see."

At least he didn’t make a comment about blindness as a disability, this time.

~~~

Daisuke was doing his homework for the night, his fingers running over the braille of his reading assignment—an article about morals and ethics for homeroom.

Dark, though he was usually noisy and wanted to put in a comment on just about everything Daisuke did, was watching quietly for once. Daisuke could feel Dark trying to piece together the bumpy characters in his brain, to understand it like it was some secret he had to decode.

As Daisuke read the next line in his article, he sat back, letting his finger rest on the page where he stopped. He was suddenly reminded of the previous night.

"I get the concepts of good and bad," He broke the silence,  "and right and wrong… they’re defined by each other. I’ve always found it paradoxical, because what’s good to one person might be bad for some reason to another… and what’s socially deemed right is right because there’s a ‘wrong’ to compare it to." He paused, letting it sink in. "Like your stealing. I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong, because everyone else probably think it’s wrong… but you think it’s right, don’t you? You have reason to justify it, right? See… these concepts, I get."

_"Your point…?"_

The redhead sighed. “But… things like color… I don’t get it. People describe white and black as opposites, and the ocean as a reflection of the sky, and… I don’t know what any of these look like. How am I supposed to know teal is a mix of green and blue when I don’t  _know_  what green and blue are? The only thing I do know is thanks to you now—that the only color I ‘see’ is black. But how does that compare to all the colors in the world? I heard there are hundreds—maybe even thousands of colors.”

He sighed heavily, “I’ve had people tell me I have the reddest hair they’ve ever seen, but I don’t know what other people’s red hair looks like, much less my own. People say white looks good on me—what even is white?” He shook his head. ”I’ve had people try to explain color for me, but none of them have ever ever been as helpful as your one word. And… that’s frustrating.”

There was a long silence, and then,  _"I can show you."_

Daisuke froze, becoming completely shocked still. “What?”

_"I’ve had sight before. I know what they look like… and I’m inside your head, kid. It’s not much, but I can show you what colors look like. And who better to show you what real colors look like than your very own self?"_

"My… my very own self?"

 _"I_ am _you, Daisuke.”_

Daisuke was baffled, both grateful and shocked into stupor. After a long moment of contemplation, Dark heard Daisuke’s thoughts and whined,  _"Aw, c’mon, it’s not like I’ll show you anything bad. Just some memories!"_

The redhead shook his head, “It’s not that, Dark. It’s just that… as much as I find it frustrating that I can’t understand the way people describe color, I… I don’t want to know what color is. As awesome and wonderful as they may be… to know them, only to never truly see them or never see them again after you go, I don’t think I could take that.”

_"Ignorance is bliss then, huh?"_

"Perhaps. But… like you said, Dark. You know what the world looks like… and you know what mine looks like, too. I think you’d be the only person who could even begin to describe the outside world to me in ways that I can actually understand. You see what I  _can’t_ , and you can put it in terms that I  _can_.” Daisuke said softly, “I want to know. But I want to know on my own terms, you know?”

Dark seemed puzzled by Daisuke’s resolve.  _"You’re a weird kid."_

"Of course I am." Daisuke grinned, "So… would you tell me? What the world is like?"

 _"Sure but you’re gonna owe me one big time for this kid. This sounds like a twenty-four-seven job,"_  the phantom thief snorted.

"Jerk."

Dark laughed mischievously.  _"Now that’s the kind of attitude that’ll make me not agree."_

Daisuke rolled his eyes. “How about in return… I teach you all the tips and tricks to doing a heist blind?” A playful grin danced on his lips, “Otherwise I’m gonna let you fall flat on your face again, till you ask me for help so we don’t get arrested.”

 _"You run a hard deal, Daisuke. Fine, sure, let’s do it. But don’t think this makes us friends or anything! And I ain’t gonna come begging you for help, you brat."_  Dark replied indignantly,  _"I can manage fine on my own! You’re only giving me a few tips and tricks!"_

"Whateeeeever you say, Dark." Daisuke scoffed, "I’ll remember that next time you trip over your shoelaces. I still don’t know how you even managed that, I don’t  _own_ any shoes with shoelaces.”

_"Wha—shut up!"_

"I think we’re gonna be great friends, don’t you think,  _Dark_?” Daisuke asked mirthfully, “Like you said. You’re stuck with me for a while!”

 _"Somehow I feel like I’ve crossed you and I’m going to regret this."_  Dark was beginning to realize that Daisuke, even blind, was one hell of a Niwa. And he really didn’t know what Daisuke was actually capable of—but if he let his imagination run wild, things got frightening real fast. Even if the idea of the sweet redhead being frightening was silly… Daisuke’s words still lingered in Dark’s mind, and he vowed never to underestimate the blind kid again.

And hearing these semi-private thoughts, Daisuke laughed. Maybe this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Dark could deny it all he wanted, but Daisuke could see what Dark couldn’t.

Maybe they didn’t start out on the right foot, but there was something about Dark’s voice—the sadness and bitterness buried under distracting volumes of arrogance and cockiness and cheerfulness—that rung deep in Daisuke’s soul and resonated within the darkness of his vision. And no matter how distant Dark’s words seemed to be, impersonal and empty and too lighthearted to be real, Daisuke could pick up on the subtle tremor of trauma, and he  _knew_. There was something deeper there… something painful… something hidden by four hundred years of practice—something Dark apparently never shared with anyone, that he needed to.

And… as much as he was a stranger… Daisuke couldn’t just sit by and ignore that hidden undertone in Dark’s voice. Maybe Dark didn’t want any help, or a friend, but Daisuke had already decided he would do something about it… and no one was going to stop him once he made up his mind. Maybe he was the only one who could do something, because he didn’t see the world like Dark did.

For the first time in his life, Daisuke could see clearly.


End file.
